During pregame ceremonies Monday, the 49-year-old Silverton native takes the mound with Concepcion, who played all four infield positions after Larkin came up in late 1986.

Larkin, who retired in 2004 after 19 seasons, returns Monday as ESPN's "Baseball Tonight" lead analyst for a live noon-1 p.m. broadcast from Crosley Terrace outside Great American Ball Park, as he did in 2011.

It's a quick turn-around for Larkin, and the ESPN crew, who will do ESPN's Sunday night pregame show and Padres-Dodgers game in San Diego. Larkin joined ESPN in 2011, after two years at the MLB Network.

Here's what Larkin said about Opening Day, the Reds, ESPN and his family:

OPENING DAY: I'm looking forward to it. It's always great to come home. It's my second Opening Day since I retired.

REDS IDOL: It's truly special, for sure, to throw out the first pitch with Davey. He's still my idol. Davey helped me so much during my career. He understood that there would be a changing of the guard (at shortstop). He taught me how to deal with failures, and how to deal with success. Davey, Buddy Bell and Tony Perez were very instrumental in my development.

BASEBALL TONIGHT: We're going on the road again every Sunday with "Baseball Tonight." It will be entertaining. The whole "(ESPN College) GameDay" feel is what they're going for it. I really enjoy the fan reaction. It's a good time, because the fans are into it. I remember the huge crowd here before the Braves game back in 2011.

NL CENTRAL: The Cardinals, with the players they've added, are obviously the favorites – getting (centerfielder) Peter Bourjos and (shortstop) Jhonny Peralta. I thought the Reds and Pirates would make more moves. And Bronson Arroyo leaving, I was surprised by that.

REDS INJURIES: Oh man, and it's not just the Reds. So many teams have injuries. What happen to Aroldis Chapman, that was scary. I just hope he comes back as effective as he was. But injuries are part of the game. It's a matter of everyone stepping up and doing the job until the others come back. The Atlanta Braves have it rough. They've lost five starters (from their pitching rotation).

KIDS STUFF: It's been quite a busy time. My daughter (Cymber, AKA CymcoLe) is an international singer in Brazil. My son Shane is playing with the Dallas Mavericks. I've been to Brazil twice, and that's a long trip. I've seen Shane play eight Mavericks game in person. We've got NBA TV, so I've seen all his games.

THE ESPN LIFE: We're doing "Sunday Night Baseball" in San Diego, and after the game we're going to fly to Cincinnati. After Opening Day, we fly to Bristol, and I'll do the Tuesday "Baseball Tonight" show in Bristol. Can I sleep on a plane? I have no choice."